


Abstinence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

by senbazuru



Category: Free!
Genre: Eventual Smut, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Now with added E Rating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-14
Updated: 2014-08-25
Packaged: 2018-02-13 02:36:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2133900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/senbazuru/pseuds/senbazuru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The team's new training strategy proves highly unpopular.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Intervention

**Author's Note:**

> First off, thank you so much to anyone who read, left kudos, or left a lovely comment on my previous fic - it's so much appreciated and very inspiring! Hope you enjoy reading this one...

Matsuoka Rin was blushing. Actually blushing.

The wholly regrettable, and possibly mentally scarring incident began when Monday's after school practice was concluded unusually early, and the four oblivious members of the Iwatobi swim team were instructed to change quickly and summoned to their club room without any further elaboration. Rather ominously, once Inside they found their grouchy old friend standing with his arms crossed impatiently waiting for them, and after being ushered into the room, were wordlessly directed to sit in a line at his feet. The atmosphere was disconcerting to say the least.

Feeling like they'd just mistakenly walked into an excessively strict dojo or were somehow attending an overly dramatised feudal clan meeting, they silently watched Gou busily gathering up her things in leu of an actual explanation. It seemed she was ignoring them, and her demeanour was inexplicably high strung, but rather incongruously before exiting the room she shared a sort of high-five clap with her brother, as if they were part of some weird flame haired tag team.

Gou finally acknowledged the boys with a polite bow and an odd, almost nervous smile and then all but ran away. Four pairs of clueless eyes drifted simultaneously from the now empty doorway to settle back on Rin, and his arms fell to his side as he grumbled something unintelligible under his breath.

"Nice to see you Rin-rin!" Nagisa enthused animatedly as he bounced on his heels, not fully reading the tension in the air and already finding the minute's worth of sitting sill too much of an ask.

Rin simply shook his head and mumbled another something as he rolled the sleeves of his black Samezuka tracksuit up over his elbows. "Look, I gotta talk to you idiots about something - so just shut up and listen ok?" It was evidently not a question that required an answer and the Iwatobi boys watched mutely with varying degrees of concern as he slowly began pacing in front of them.

Haru sighed apathetically. Not only had he been dragged out of the pool early for this crap, but it was also starting to cut into his Makoto time. On hearing that infuriating little huff of air, Rin ceased pacing in front of Haru and towered over him, almost willing him to try it again as he stared down menacingly into those unflinchingly passive blue eyes.

"Ah, Rin-chan, what's on your mind?" Makoto interjected, smiling and leaning into Rin's field of vision in an attempt to divert his attention. He'd always hated confrontation.

Rin's crimson eyes squinted a warning at Haru before taking the high road and letting his juvenile attitude slide. Stupid fish boy. He took a moment and pinched his brow, his trademark jagged teeth stabbing at his lip as he tried to order his thoughts. That moment dragged on a little too long, and when he eventually came to the disappointing conclusion that he was just going to have to get on with it, he exhaled a melodramatic breath of annoyance before casting a defeated glance over his friends.

Haru was already spacing out, looking wistfully into the middle distance and no doubt silently obsessing over some illusive and most likely forbidden body of water, because he's a freak. Makoto of course was now watching Haru, his large frame angled towards him subconsciously, with a sickeningly sweet glow of affection plastered across his face as he dreamily twirled the thin end of his tie like a girl. The other two, well the less Rin focused on them the better, they were currently engaging in a disturbingly well choreographed game of flirtation where Nagisa childishly tried to steal Rei's glasses from off his face. This needed to stop.

Rin cleared his throat but was completely ignored. His fists clenched tightly at his sides.

"Ok dumbasses!" Rin's irritated tone cut loudly through the room like a drill sergeant and all eyes dutifully refocused on him expectantly. Well all eyes but Haru's, he wasn't a miracle worker. He suddenly felt his initial nerves begin to resurface as everyone waited for him to continue, but he stubbornly pushed them down to the back of his thoughts, this was a favour for his baby sister and it was for their own good.

"Right, well..." His hands found their way into his pockets as he continued, his line of vision drifting a couple of feet above their heads. "Gou asked me if I'd come have a word with you guys, about something... err... Personal," he blinked and swallowed awkwardly a few times as if the word had left a bad taste in his mouth. "So god knows why, but I said I'd take care of it and here I am..."

"Gou-chan asked you to?" Makoto said with a puzzled expression "she couldn't talk to us..." He found the idea that their friend felt unable to talk to them unsettling. At the very least, a manager should feel comfortable enough to discuss her issues with the team captain. Makoto began to worry, she'd left in somewhat of a rush after all.

Rin winced at the thought of how this conversation might've gone down in his absence, and as much as he really didn't want to be standing here right now, he could see his sister's point when she came to him for advice on the matter. He only wished there'd come up with a different solution.

"Yeah well, let me start by saying I don't wanna be talking about this either," he lifted a hand to run it slowly through his hair in a nervous tell, and from the corner of his sharp eye noticed that Haru was now paying attention, scanning his face with mild intrigue. It was just like him to revel in his discomfort, that guy was such a dick sometimes.

"Basically," he started quickly in order to get the whole thing over with, "it has to do with the swim meet on Saturday. To improve your times you're gonna have to... uh, refrain from 'extracurricular activities'..." Rin used his fingers to sign quotation marks in the air and really hoped the matter was now closed.

"But Rin-senpai," Rei observed as he pushed his glasses needlessly up his nose "by its very nature, swim club is in fact already extracurricular." All eyes turned back to Rin for clarification.

Rin swiped his hand slowly down his face, he was going to have to spell it out for these dorks after all. It was about then that he began to feel his face heating up. This was so stupid.

"No, you know what I mean - 'extracurricular activities'..." He tried again, emphasising the words more suggestively. Four blank faces stared back at him. He felt his blood begin to boil, was he seriously about to have The Talk with this bunch of idiots?

"Rin-chan," Makoto cooed "I'm not sure I -"

"Stop fucking each other's brains out!" He blurted in frustration, and his face attempted to match his hair as he glared at them with wide, crazy eyes.

"Oh" Makoto squeaked, his own blush giving Rin a run for his money. Rei covered his face with his hand and stared at the floor through his fingers, it was possible he'd never be able to look these people in the eye ever again. Nagisa pouted.

"I don't care about times," Haru offered dryly "I only-"

"Swim free? Whatever," Rin interrupted dismissively and directed his attention back to the still mortified Makoto "if I beat Haru on Saturday, I'm blaming you." Makoto's jaw dropped and Haru rolled his eyes at the ridiculously empty threat.

"Jesus, get a grip - it's like five days. I don't even let Souske near me during-" Rin gritted his teeth. He probably didn't need to tell them that. "Well, this was fun" he said sarcastically as he slung his bag over his shoulder, "let's never do this again." And with that he disappeared quicker than Haru's clothes at the beach.

 

>* ))))><

 

The journey home was a quieter affair than usual, everyone having mutually and wordlessly agreed that it wasn't actually necessary for the older pair to walk their juniors to the station on that particular occasion. Also, eye contact was highly overrated.

Haru stole curious glances at his uncharacteristically taciturn boyfriend as they walked through their tranquil neighbourhood, he blithely wondered if this was what life was like for Makoto. As they turned off the main road into the smaller network of residential streets, Haru purposefully bumped his shoulder against Makoto's and brushed his thumb across the back of his hand. Makoto instantly retrieved it with a jolt as if he'd been scolded, and he eyed the perpetrator with a mixture of shock and suspicion as he soothed where he'd been burnt with the fingers of his other hand.

"What?" Haru stopped walking and rounded on Makoto, his eyes analytically searching that familiar face which was now so heavily conflicted.

"Haru, we shouldn't... The swim meet on Saturday..." Makoto trailed off, the guilt and embarrassment creasing his brow as he focused on scuffing his shoe into the asphalt. Haru scoffed, he didn't mean to, but he couldn't believe Makoto was actually taking that ridiculous ultimatum seriously. Green eyes shot up from where he'd been studying the ground, worry plastered across his face.

"Don't be angry Haru-chan" he unintentionally did a perfect impression of an anxious puppy dog.

"Makoto..." Haru melted, but tried not to show it "I meant what I said, I don't care about times." He'd meant to be reassuring, but for some reason his words had the opposite effect. If it had been biologically possible, Makoto's ears would've drooped.

"Haru-chaaaan~" Makoto whined, his shoulders falling in exasperation, "you see, it's true what Rin-chan said, that it'll be my fault and I... " he faltered as his panicked eyes met Haru's. Haru waited patiently as Makoto formulated his words, a practice that he himself greatly appreciated when more often than not the tongue-tied shoe was on the other foot. "I don't want to hold you back." He said finally, his voice quiet and resigned.

Haru's heart broke a little and he reached out a had to touch his crestfallen face, but he froze midway when Makoto unwittingly flinched at his advance. He exhaled a careful breath, taking a step backwards with his hands still raised as if trying to prove he was an unarmed man. Over the years he'd developed a finely tuned method of calming his big ol' scaredy cat, he used his touch so naturally to comfort Makoto that he suddenly felt alarmingly useless given the current circumstances. His verbal reassurance evidently needed some work.

"You don't... I didn't mean... Tch," wow his boyfriend made this look easy, "Makoto is the one I swim for. You could never hold me back. There is no point without you" he cringed at his ineloquence, placing his hands in his pockets now that they were effectively pointless and angling his face away in order to stare at a suddenly captivating stretch of railing.

Makoto's whole face instantly lit up like he'd just discovered buried treasure, the warm glow of recently kindled street lamps reflecting in his wide, shining eyes. He released a breathy laugh made up of relief and affection, suddenly there was way too much space between them.

"I could kiss you right now" he said with a giant grin returning to its rightful place.

"Not stopping you..." Haru clarified still looking away, a telltale blush creeping across his cheekbones.

Makoto took in the sight of his endearingly bashful Haru-chan for a moment, before humming contentedly and slowly beginning to carry on walking in the direction they'd been headed. Haru quickly fell into step by his side, and Makoto knowingly peered down at him when he felt those questioning blue eyes casting surreptitious glances up through feathery lashes.

"I appreciate what you said Haru-chan, I really do, and I feel the same way." He smiled honestly as they walked. "But I'm not taking any chances on this, and besides, it's only five days." He added, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself on that last point.

 

>* ))))><

 

Makoto made his first mistake the very next morning. He was just so used to doing it, performing the same routine at the start of practically every single school day since the moment Haru's parents had moved. So here he was, frozen to the spot as he stood with his mouth agape, only vaguely aware of the not too inconsiderable amount of moisture that Haru's bath mat was slowly seeping into his socks.

He'd reached his hand down to assist Haru out of the bath tub purely out of force of habit, and as he felt those familiar wet fingers curl around his own, he knew he'd fucked up. He watched helplessly as Haru's shoulder muscles braced themselves against the rest of his body weight while he pulled his frame out of the water like some sort of mythical adonis. The water smoothed over the hair of his bowed head and continued down to cascade in tantalising slow motion over his multifaceted stomach muscles, finally rejoining the pool that gathered smugly around his perfect calves.

Makoto only realised that perhaps he'd been staring a little too long when he swallowed thickly, and was suddenly aware of the slow staccato drips that the last of the water made as it gradually trickled its way off of Haru's shining skin. Any resolve he had felt the night before was washed unceremoniously down the drain along with the predictably cool bath water. Haru regarded him quizzically, and he remembered with a second wave of horror that he was In fact still holding onto his wrist like a moron, and so he quickly resumed his original task of helping him out of the bath.

"Thanks" Haru said nonchalantly, but Makoto couldn't be sure whether or not there was a smirk present behind his statement, as he decided it would probably be better for his sanity if he averted his eyes. At lest Haru still persisted in wearing his jammers for bathing, thank heavens for small mercies he thought as he exited the bathroom a flustered mess.

Makoto sat at the breakfast table, actually doing school work. He'd taken the initiative when Haru had followed him into the kitchen and proceeded to tie his usual blue apron around his slim waist, that particular item bewitched him at the best of times, but knowing his boyfriend was strictly off limits dramatically compounded the issue. So here he was; sitting across from Haru, devoutly practicing his kanji. The really obscure kind.

In his periphery Makoto noticed Haru deliberately lay his chopsticks down on the rest, and on raising his eyes he noticed that there was still a little over half a mackerel fillet sitting atop the hardly touched rice. He lifted his head to ask Haru if he was alright, but found himself immediately bolted to the chair by an electric blue gaze.

"You can't even look at me." Haru stated, in an equal measure of amusement and concern.

"Uh..." Makoto replied dumbly, but although he fidgeted with his pen was unable to look away. Could he say that he thought every single thing that Haru had done that morning had been profoundly and intensely sexual? No, probably not.

"Makoto, you'll drive us both crazy before the weekend even gets here. Don't be so stubborn." Haruka shook his head gently, his still damp hair clinging to his face.

"Ha! Me stubborn?" Makoto shrilled rather hysterically, "I can't believe you of all people are calling me stubborn..." and he attempted a casual laugh. Haru picked up his chopsticks and resumed his breakfast.

"fine" Haru said breezily, lifting a mouthful of rice up to his lips, "but you'll never make it that long." and shot Makoto a devastating smile before slowly lapping up the grains with his tongue.


	2. Cold Turkey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are bloody lovely. Here's a slice of MakoHaru on me. Hope you like...

Makoto felt like a total scumbag. He was the one who'd decided to enforce this ridiculous regime of self-denial. He was the one who'd gotten all pissy last night when Haru simply attempted to hold his hand. So why was he now the one obsessing over his boyfriend like a massive creep, whilst Haru incidentally seemed completely nonplussed. It was already driving him to distraction, and it was only midday on Tuesday morning - less than twenty four hours since this whole nightmarish debacle began.

He was sitting next to Haru in class which in itself was of course completely normal, but unusually for Makoto he found himself unable to concentrate. He could smell him. Actually smell Haru from where he was sitting mere feet away. It wasn't even as if he stank, of mackerel or chlorine or whatever their friends occasionally teased him about, it was just this deliciously warm musky Haru smell, and it was driving him crazy. He loved that smell, but over time he'd grown to associate it with being intimate with Haru, sneakily smelling his hair when he held him, the intoxicating fragrance of Haru's bed when he spent the night, or the shirt that Haru would borrow when he stayed over and which Makoto was in the habit of taking back out of the laundry when he'd gone and wearing it until his scent had faded. Huh, maybe he'd always been a little obsessed.

"Makoto" Haru monotoned.

"What? Uh, what is it Haru-chan?" He knew exactly what it was, he'd been caught staring again. Haru shook his head minutely and exhaled through his nose, that was his exasperated face.

"No, nothing - I'm fine!" Makoto tried a little too hard and in the process knocked his notebook and pen off the table with his flailing, vehement gestures of denial.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" But Haru had already bent down in his seat to pick them up, his forehead brushing gently against Makoto's thigh as he reached to retrieve the pen that had rolled under his desk. Makoto may have groaned.

He watched longingly as his fine torso stretched gracefully across the gap between their two desks, the motion pulling gossamer-thin cotton taut across his athletic back. A back that Makoto knew all too well, had seen in a multitude of different positions, had run his fingers over to feel those supple muscles as they twitched and contorted under his touch. Makoto's lidded gaze slipped down to where Haru's tightly clothed ass lifted marginally off the seat of his chair, the action of reaching to pick up all the scattered pages causing it to bounce ever so slightly. Haru grunted softly at the effort of being bent in two, and Makoto nearly died, gulping and biting his lip to stifle any more of his embarrassing whimpers.

Haru straightened and, did he just lick his lips? Makoto couldn't be sure because at that moment the bell went off and the whole room erupted into activity. Haru stood and serenely put his books away whilst Makoto looked on with a dry mouth and his circuits completely fried.

"Lunch?" Haru asked coolly, and Makoto could only nod. This didn't bode well.

 

>* ))))><

 

They were all but alone on the rooftop, in their usual spot but sitting conspicuously further apart than they ordinarily would. There had been a minor incident where upon receiving the simple bento that Makoto attentively brought for him every day, Haru had muttered his thanks in the huskiest most sultry way that his boyfriend had ever heard. Makoto had shivered slightly as their fingertips brushed in the exchange, and had felt the need to scoot over to put a little more distance between them. He was now busily, and somewhat hysterically, recounting the deeply amusing tale of how that little stray cat had attempted to get into his school bag again that morning.

"Makoto..." Haru interrupted for the hundredth time that day, about to chastise him for being such a nervous wreck, but was instead himself distracted by the sudden and overwhelmingly awkward presence of their bespectacled teammate Rei.

Their junior towered above them seemingly immobilised by sheer terror, and as Makoto stopped talking to follow Haru's diverted line of sight, the backpack on Rei's shoulder slowly slid down his arm.

"Hello Rei" Haru said blandly after the long pause, silently amused that he was the one making conversation for once.

"Ah, hello Haruka-senpai, Makoto-senpai." Rei projected earnestly, his eyes screwed shut as he bowed his head with disproportionate formality.

His attempt at a dignified greeting was promptly overshadowed when the final member of their team came running up the stairs to energetically launch himself onto Rei's back, throwing his arms around his neck and wrapping his short legs around the guy's waist. Rei instinctively caught his knees through pure habit, but couldn't shift his brain into gear fast enough to react any further.

"Hey Mako-chan, Haru-chan!" Nagisa beamed over Rei's frozen shoulder.

"Hello Nagisa" Haru replied, feeling like he was on a roll.

Nagisa slid idly down Rei's body, and than gracelessly plonked himself down opposite his friends, emptying his pockets of his disturbingly trashy lunch. Rei stood in recovery for a moment longer, before slowly repositioning his skewed glasses and seating himself next to Nagisa, occupying his attention with unpacking his own more balanced meal.

"So, what's new?" Nagisa chirped as he leant his elbow on Rei's shoulder, causing the taller boy to fumble with his chopsticks and drop a piece of kare age chicken into his lap. He mumbled something about the decline of beauty, and Nagisa affectionately patted his head with the hand that was still draped across his shoulder.

"Um, about yesterday..." Makoto finally found his tentative voice. Nagisa's brow furrowed with incomprehension and Rei visibly stiffened as the little devil began to play with his earlobe. "... What Rin-chan talked to us about?" Makoto offered, embarrassment making itself evident on his face with a creeping blush.

"Oh, the sex thing?" Nagisa enquired candidly, his questioning gaze shifting between his three friends. Makoto nodded, uncomfortably forcing a smile. "Yeah, that sucks!" He pouted "but it doesn't mean we can't still flirt, eh Rei-chan?" And he slid his other hand onto Rei's thigh, causing his long suffering boyfriend to choke on his edamame.

Green eyes drifted over to meet with blue, and they shared a lingering connection before he guiltily looked away.

Makoto wondered why it was that he couldn't trust himself. It wasn't even like their touches always had a sexual implication. In fact the majority of the physical contact they shared hadn't changed since they were children. It was practically a daily occurrence for Makoto to casually stroke the hair out of Haru's eyes whilst they talked, or place a gentle hand on his shoulder when he tried hard to express himself to others. And Haru did it too, ordinarily he'd sidle up to him during lunch on the roof and lean tenderly up against his arm, or he'd covertly intertwine their fingers as they walked home from practice together. It felt completely natural, and if that was flirting they'd certainly been doing it for a long time.

That wasn't to say they didn't experience an abundance of heavily charged touches that sent bolts of electricity raking through their nervous systems, or those sensual little caresses that had their skin tingling from the slightest contact. But their relationship had always been comfortably close, close enough not to have to rely on words to communicate, close enough not to have unnecessary boundaries between their bodies. And it had always been that way.

Perhaps Makoto took Haru's lack of concern for personal space for granted. It definitely felt strange for them not to have any form of physical contact whatsoever, but if it could give Haru the advantage then he was willing to give it a try. But dear god, was it proving difficult. It was like the subtlest kind of psychological torture technique, the stupidest thing being that it was entirely self imposed. Could it be that this was also some form of subconscious punishment, that he was denying himself the warmth and comfort that Haru's physical presence afforded him. He knew Haru wasn't lying when he'd said that he didn't feel held back by Makoto, but the thought alone sent a chill through his bones. He would sacrifice anything for Haru, and if it came down to it he'd even sabotage their own relationship if it meant Haru's success.

Makoto was shaken from his rather depressing train of thought by the loud commotion being created by his two frisky juniors. Nagisa was demanding to be carried to his next class, citing 'arm strength training' as part of his diabolical reasoning. Naturally, Rei was having none of it, and began faithfully quoting the latest anecdotal research and supporting scientific data on the matter. Needless to say it didn't go down particularly well with the demanding blond.

Haru stood abruptly as the noisy pair began to move away, Nagisa still insistently pulling on Rei's arm like an ill-disciplined toddler. He looked down at Makoto with a face full of concern.

"At least smile. Makoto is supposed to smile."

 

>* ))))><

 

Makoto's lips straightened into a tight line. Why in the name of all that was holy had they chosen swimming as their life's vocation. The one sport in which it was actively encouraged that its athletes squeeze into the least amount of skintight spandex as was humanly possible. And with a body like Haru's, it seemed at the very least indecent, if not bordering illegal. He wouldn't be having this conflict of interests if they had just, for instance joined the chess club. Although in those circumstances their enforced chastity probably wouldn't have been such a major issue. Makoto grumbled quietly to himself as he ruefully began to get changed, those chess club guys could go as wild as they liked.

The locker room was the same as it always had been, same damp chlorine smell, same squeaky tiles and peeling paintwork. Even the presence of their younger teammates rang with the same playful atmosphere, as Nagisa gleefully partook in one of his favourite games of 'hide Rei-chan's stuff', wherein he randomly deposited said stolen items into the overly generous amount of spare lockers available and then directed his boyfriend in their retrieval like some reluctant contestant on a bizarre game show.

All of this however, became strangely disjointed as Makoto involuntarily began to focus on the sound of Haru removing his clothes a few feet away, his ear tuning in to the smooth chafing noise made by Haru's silken tie as he slipped it easily from around his elegant neck. He was further drawn in with increasingly bated breath as he listened to the sound of light fingers gradually unbuttoning that crisp cotton shirt before it finally rustled off his shoulders to fall with a soft crumple onto the floor. And next, oh god, but the unmistakable metallic sigh of Haru's zipper being languidly unfastened and the subtle clink of his belt buckle as it presumably hung loose around his now open fly. Makoto's heart pounded as he closed his eyes against the dizzying sensation of overwhelming desire that flooded his bloodstream, trying in vain to ignore the heated twitches that began to emanate from his groin.

"Mako-chan~! Hurry up, you're gonna be late!" Nagisa chimed as he slapped Makoto forcefully on the back. For once, he was actually grateful for one of his friend's invariably ill-timed intrusions, the shock of the cheerful assault helpfully reminding him of his inappropriate surroundings. Makoto laughed nervously before quickly divesting himself of his remaining uniform, and on throwing a quick glance over in Haru's direction found his levelheaded boyfriend fixing him with a look of thoughtful intrigue, as if trying to unravel the most captivating of puzzles.

They filed their way out into the bright afternoon sun, and Makoto tried with unease to ignore the persistently curious eyes that he could feel boring into his furtively turned back. As they passed by the corner of the pool, heading over towards the end where the row of weather worn starting blocks dutifully awaited their arrival, the line of swimmers abruptly halted in their tracks. Apart from Haru, who'd presumably been too busy studying Makoto's posterior to notice the sudden stop and resultantly bumped his nose against the middle of the taller boy's shoulder blades. Makoto visibly shuddered and cast an incredulous glare over his shoulder at the culprit. The light of understanding finally flickered on somewhere deep in the watery depths of Haru's eyes.

Meanwhile at the front of the line, Rei stood paralysed, anchored to the spot as he came face to face with their apparently very aware, very female manager. Nagisa waved a helpful hand in front of his eyes in an attempt snap him out of his now approaching catatonic state. Gou cleared her throat and resumed her path towards the club room with her stack of training manuals, the boys scattering to let her through like the parting of the Red Sea. She took a few more steps before slowly pivoting on one foot to wearily regard her awkward team. Five pairs of eyes shifted dramatically between each other as they each searched for the appropriate words. Nagisa joined in mostly because it was fun.

"I'm sorry I had to get Rin involved, I -" Gou finally started before being quickly interrupted by their musclebound captain as he adamantly waved his palms in the air and blushed profusely.

"No no! There's no need to apologise!" He squeaked, barely able to look in her direction.

"That's right!" Rei exclaimed with the nervous energy of a soldier addressing his superior, "A-and you can count on us... For the honour of the team!" His face turning from deathly pale to bright red in the short amount of time it took him to make his impassioned declaration.

"Good" she put simply, before giving them all the once over, her thirsty eyes running over their exposed flesh. "Good" she repeated slowly, her expression momentarily glinting with untold mischief.

 

 

 


	3. Cravings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rating goes up - it's apparent that I cannot be trusted to restrain myself either. 
> 
> Unfortunately, I'm compelled to make an appearance at work tomorrow so I'm not entirely sure when the next update will be, hope this will suffice in the meantime...

And so it transpired that Nanase Haruka was secretly enjoying this a little.

To begin with, the whole thing had seemed rather fatuous, appearing to Haru like a playful joke gone a little too far, and indeed he only really figured it out after Makoto had looked at him so strangely at the start of yesterday's practice. Obviously, he was already well aware that Makoto was frustratingly intent on following this new 'hands off' approach to their training, and although he could admit to being dense sometimes, his boyfriend's excessively skittish behaviour could never have failed to attract his attention.

But it had become a subject for concern, watching Makoto trip over himself to avoid any form of physical contact. His boyfriend was tactile by nature, and it was disconcerting to see him so actively trying to repress his personality. It was a big part of the all-encompassing, radiating warmth that was Tachibana Makoto, and a part of the latent heat that he infused into their relationship. Haruka didn't like these latest developments one bit. He had the sneaking suspicion that Makoto was still doing this for him, even though he'd tried - albeit in his completely inept way - to reassure him that it was a total nonissue as far as he was concerned.

So whilst he was carving long, aimless laps into the water during the previous day's practice, his meditative brain rationally worked it's way through all of his varying options, until his final deductions left him evidently with little to no alternative. Up until that point he hadn't really been doing anything intentionally provocative, not seriously anyway. But once he'd finally realised the amount of constant strain that Makoto was putting himself under, he decided he was going to have to ramp up his apparent seductive appeal. The sooner this farce was over with the better.

Consequently, he may have stretched a little more than was strictly necessary whilst doing his rarely practised warm down routine. He may have followed straight after Makoto as he quickly made his escape, to stand next to him in the empty showers and let the water run in warm rivulets down over his prone body. And he may also have accidentally forgotten to finish buttoning up his shirt when getting dressed, meaning his collarbone and the start of his gracefully defined pecks just happened to be on show as they walked home.

He wasn't doing it to torture Makoto, he just wanted him to hurry up and get over this needless barrier that he'd so wilfully built between them. And if Haru had to be the one to help him see the futility of his restraint, well then so be it.

Having said that, his boyfriend's responses to his not so subtle baiting were undeniably comical, and he'd be lying if he said it hadn't encouraged him further. One of the best aspects of their relationship was the fact that they could practically read each others minds, but Makoto was so preoccupied with trying to keep his shit together, that it gave Haru free rein to examine his slightest of reactions without ever being caught. He was such a cute little mess.

Haru smiled to himself as he slid further down into his lukewarm bath water, thinking about the way they'd parted company the night before. Makoto had babbled and stuttered his way through the usual repertoire of amusing stories and insightful observations as they walked, occasionally faltering when he'd looked over to see that Haru was actively paying attention, his wide adoring eyes staring up through spidery black lashes. Once they'd reached the juncture between the remaining few steps and the short path that led over to the Tachibana house, Makoto had come to a hesitant standstill, shuffling his feet and nervously examining his hands as if they were just about to conclude their very first date. Haru took the opportunity to stealthily close the distance between them, and Makoto froze as he laid a delicate hand lightly on his chest. He could feel Makoto's heart pounding through the pads of his fingers as he boldly reached up on his toes to position his lips mere inches away from his boyfriend's ear.

"Goodnight Mako-chan" he whispered, sending a hot breath ghosting over his neck, before stepping away with his lip caught between his teeth.

Makoto had looked so utterly frazzled, that Haru couldn't help but let out a soft laugh as he made his way to the foot of the steps, throwing an amused glance over his shoulder as he began the assent. Makoto waved a small belated gesture of farewell with his jellified hand, before dazedly walking back on autopilot towards his own front door.

 

>* ))))><

 

Makoto was absolutely shattered. He'd gone straight upstairs immediately upon returning home, and just stood motionless in the middle of his room. He still felt the warm imprint of Haru's familiar palm on his chest, the heated breath that lingered distractingly at his ear. This week would most probably be the end of him.

He noted with agitation that his bedroom was in definite need of tidying, and for completely non-Haru-related reasons, decided that now would be as good a time as any to go about fully renovating his space. He pulled cupboards away from walls to dust behind, thoroughly washed down the large windows and used virtually a whole can of furniture polish to make every surface sparkle as if they were encrusted with precious stones. He'd inherited this mildly absurd coping strategy from his mother, and it was only fortunate that he couldn't cook, else they'd have been eating green curry for weeks at this rate.

He'd enthusiastically offered to wash the dishes after the much appreciated distraction of their family meal, and then followed up by comprehensively entertaining his siblings whilst his parents relaxed and watched TV in the other room. And perhaps more revealingly than he would've liked, for once it was Makoto that had grumbled when it was time to put the twins to bed.

He still had some homework that he could do, but that in itself held potential danger, as it meant engaging his brain. His brain could not be trusted.

And evidently so, because later that evening as he lay on his bed, surrounded by abandoned text books and forgotten academic accoutrements, his unbidden mind helpfully provided him with impressively high definition images of the one person he'd been trying so hard to avoid thinking about. It had started innocently enough, he'd realised that the pen he'd been absentmindedly chewing on did in fact belong to Haru. This wasn't an unusual occurrence, he invariably sat next to Haru in class and they studied so often together that their stationary became practically interchangeable. But one thing had inevitably led to another, and soon enough he was compulsively recalling the multitude of times when he'd fucked Haru so hard that his boyfriend could no longer stand, his consciousness filled with widescreen replays as the x-rated highlights flickered through his mind like a dirty movie on an endless loop.

One of his most favourite escapades that he often found himself mentally revisiting was a time during the winter off season, when Haru got so ridiculously stir crazy with the lack of pool action that he would instead remorselessly take out his frustrations on Makoto. In a good way. Haru it turned out, was very suggestible when his mind was fogged over with water lust, and Makoto was by no means above taking full advantage of the fact.

There'd just been out for a brisk evening jog along the shore front, keeping up with training and releasing some of their pent up energy in the process. They had returned to the stillness of the Nanase house and, perhaps it'd been his recent close proximity to the ocean, but Haru implicitly suggested they take a long bath together. Makoto of course always jumped at the proposition of intimacy with his stoic boyfriend, and they were a little sweaty from the run in any case, so it seemed like a win-win scenario.

The idea first popped into his mind whilst Makoto was sitting on the little bathroom stool busily soaping himself up, watching with relaxed admiring eyes as Haru stood blissfully content under the hot running shower. He followed the path of the water as it made its fluid decent over his sculpted back, like a gentle brook running over softly eroded stones on its way to the sea. His fascinated gaze was then lazily drawn to the way that Haru's muscles subtly shifted under his skin as he turned to face into the room, changing position in order to direct a therapeutic stream to fall on the nape of his neck. Makoto decided he would very much like to coax out a few more of those delightfully enthralling movements.

"Ne, Haru-chan, maybe you should do some stretches - you wouldn't want to get sore..." Makoto intoned with a suggestively honeyed voice, a devious smile threatening on his lips.

Heavy blue eyes slid half open to regard him through the dark fringe of saturated tendrils that framed his intoxicated face. Makoto licked his lips at the visible storm brewing in Haru's pupils, and his soap-slicked hand purposely lowered to graze a lethargic stroke along his length as if to visually reinforce his intensions.

Haru's eyes fell closed without response, but he obediently turned around to brace himself against the tiled wall. His feet spread apart a little as he bent at the hip so that his back ran parallel to the floor, his forearms resting on the cool ceramic surface in front of him as he flexed with a quiet sigh. Makoto was gratefully furnished with the majestic sight that was Haruka's perfectly curved rear, the water splashing dramatically in all directions as it came into contact with the small dip of his lower back. Haru's feet Idly took a staggered position so he could shift his weight against the wall, bunching his shoulders and languidly stretching out his spine in the process.

"Mmmm..." Makoto hummed "maybe you should try it on your knees..."

Haru compliantly made his way to the ground, his fingers dragging quiet little squeaks against the tiles as he went. Still facing the wall he stretched his legs out behind him and pushed his pelvis down towards the floor, straightening his arms and arching his back under the cascade like the fabled mermaid on a rock. He then brought his knees forward and kneeled up under the spray, before gently tipping back to catch his ankles behind him and craned his graceful neck in order to fix Makoto with a seductive stare.

Makoto, who was already almost fully hard from his boyfriend's flexible demonstration, stretched a hand forward to wipe away the few errant droplets that clung to Haru's upturned forehead and he signalled with his loving green eyes that he had done enough. Haru righted himself but remained on all fours as he crawled over to kneel patiently in front of where Makoto was still sitting perched on the little bathroom stool. Apparently he wished for further direction. Makoto caught his chin and drew him upwards to kneel between his things as he captured his lips in a slow open mouthed kiss.

After pulling back for air, Haru's intense blue eyes drifted down to take a furtive glimpse at Makoto's stiffened cock, he reached out his hand but Makoto calmly batted it away, instead carding his fingers through the hair at the back of Haru's head and gently guiding his mouth down towards his crotch.

Haru's tongue flicked out to meet the darkened head as he was gradually pushed down, and Makoto let out a hissed sigh of relief as he promptly opened his lips to take him inside his hot mouth. After leisurely bobbing up and down a few times, taking care to keep his lips tightly pursed as he devoured as much as he could, Haru continued on to lick long wet stripes up and down the length of the shaft, taking particular interest in his favourite protruding vein as it twitched along the underside. Makoto's head fell back in bliss as Haru began ardently lapping at his slit, and his fingers twisted in the patch of still damp hair he'd taken hold of at his boyfriend's increasingly jerky crown.

"Mmm, that's good Haru-chan" he praised softly as he brought his attention back to watch his lover at work. Haru had his eyes closed and there was an ever so slight rosy blush forming across his face as he gasped around his mouthful at the constant exertion. Makoto generously decided to return the favour, and using the soap he'd been washing with earlier, reached an arm forward to trace a careful finger around Haru's entrance. The pleasured hum he received around his cock acted as great encouragement for Makoto to gently ease his finger inside, and Haru reached up to brace himself on the knee in front of him as he let out a contented moan at the new development. The vibrations and muffled noises Haru was making sent shivers through Makoto's body, and it didn't take him long before adding another digit as he felt the urgency begin to tighten in his gut. He scissored his fingers as he slowly pushed them in and out, Haru adding to the movement by swaying back onto them, which consequently pushed his face further onto Makoto's length on the return motion.

Makoto felt his cock begin to jolt, and he forcefully pulled Haru away by his hair in a preventative measure, the latter taking in a much needed gulp of air as if surfacing from a lap of swimming under water. They both watched a string of saliva stretch and break the connection between his cock and Haru's mouth, Makoto swept the pad of his thumb across his boyfriend's swollen lip and Haru nuzzled into the touch.

The job of fully stretching Haru was not yet complete however, and so Makoto directed him to rest his cheek on his still seated thigh, and then proceeded to reinsert his two fingers as he began to move them at a quicker pace than he'd previously administered. Haru's harsh panting sent hot breaths rolling towards Makoto's groin and he bit his lip as Haru angled his back into a feline arch in order to allow better access. The boy on all fours began to whimper loudly, and when a third finger was added alongside the others, Haru shifted so that his upper body was now lying across Makoto's lap, meaning he could buck his straining erection against his boyfriend's leg.

"Ahn, Makoto! Yes!" Haru all but sang, momentarily drowning out the obscenely wet sound effects being made by their activities as they echoed against the walls.

Something in Makoto snapped, and he pulled his boyfriend up to his feet and dragged him over to the long forgotten shower. Haru stumbled a little with disorientation and a pleasure endured haze, but Makoto held him under the spray with his firm grip so that Haru's chest was pushed up against the refreshingly cool tiles. Makoto's head bowed to lick and nibble at Haru's shoulder and he used his foot to nudge his legs apart whilst large hands found their way to his hips. Haru shivered as he felt Makoto's large frame cover him completely, pressing him into the wall and lining up at his entrance. Moments later Makoto was pushing inside, and he let out a low groan as he felt himself sinking deeper. Gasping breathlessly, Haru's fingers scratched out a search across the smooth tiles in an attempt to find something to hold onto, and when Makoto had stilled he brought his hand up from Haru's hip to position his lovers arm in front of him so he could rest his forehead on his own wrist. Sometimes Haru got so drunk on sex that Makoto had to physically move his limbs around for him, although of course he didn't mind one bit, as not only was it completely adorable, but it meant Makoto could have him in whatever position he liked.

Their current position was indeed highly gratifying, the large amount of skin contact providing a satisfying warmth that smouldered appealingly where their bodies met, but as Makoto began to take long deliberate thrusts he felt the urge to go deeper still, and so he pulled Haru back by the hips to achieve a better angle. Haru's back was flat with his elbows against the wall, mimicking the stretching pose from the private show he'd given Makoto earlier, the flow of water from the shower pulsing down on him and running down their legs. Makoto began to pick up speed, and as Haru's head began to bump faster against the wall, Makoto brought his hand up to cover over Haru's and he intertwined their fingers in an apologetic gesture. Haru merely pushed back into him harder and Makoto grunted as he felt Haru's ass slapping against his thighs. He reached down to stroke along Haru's tensed stomach and he felt him convulse underneath him as he wrapped his hand around his untouched cock and began pumping and teasing at his slit.

"Ah Makoto, please... I... I need to..." Haru rasped, his voice sounding loud and desperate in the echoing bathroom.

Makoto bent to place a kiss between his shoulders and then drove with renewed force to impale Haru's sensitive nerves in repeated thrusts. Haru began to scream Makoto's name in an ever increasing blur of consonants an vowels, and Makoto could feel Haru's knees begin to give way below him so he slipped a supportive arm under his chest and used the position to his advantage to pinch at his nipple.

Haru came with a strangled shout against the grey-blue tiles, the ribbon of cum being washed away instantly as he fell apart cradled in his boyfriend's arms. Makoto bucked a few more times before the tight pulsing of Haru's aftershock became too much to bare and he finally shuddered erratically to release his load deep inside him.

They had stayed in that tangled position for several minutes, until their ragged breaths subsided and then as promised Makoto had carried Haru over to slide them both into the bath tub to resume their original plan. Haru had drifted off to sleep as he lay on Makoto's chest, and Makoto was content just to watch his tranquil face, only occasionally kissing the top of his head in silent thanks.

It had been one of his favourite times. Just the right balance between hot and sweet.

 

>* ))))><

 

Makoto was a wreck. He looked like a mess, he couldn't focus on his school work and it took him so long to reply in conversation that people eventually just gave up on him. Only Haru persisted, staying by his side to cast a watchful eye over his drowsy, zombified bumblings.

It couldn't be helped, he'd been awake for most of the night reminiscing about all the great fucking they'd ever done, getting strangely fixated on trying to adequately visualise Haru's cum face. And of course he'd gotten painfully hard ridiculously quickly, and it had taken an excruciatingly long time for him to calm himself down, hence the shadow of a man that was now Tachibana Makoto.

He'd considered jerking off on several occasions, and indeed the memory of that time in the bathroom was one of his favourites to get off to, but he knew it wouldn't be right. He couldn't preach the path of resistance during the day and spend his nights satisfying his most carnal of desires. So he'd just lain there, for six and a half hours, waiting for the sun to come up.

As might be expected, the day went by in a haze, and in fact he was only even aware of which day it actually was because Haru had needed to remind him that they didn't have practice on Wednesdays. The swim team purposefully took a rest day midweek in order to catch up on assignments, and If Makoto had retained enough energy to care, he'd have been quite pleased with himself for getting the whole of the next couple of weeks worth of school work done in just the previous evening. As it was, all he cared about was crashing out.

 

 

 

 


	4. Small Doses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the lovely encouragement!  
> I took the advice to keep going - well I interpreted it - and pretended to look busy at my job so I could finish this chapter sharpish.  
> Hm, NSFW actually written at work. Evidently I have issues...

Was it possible to break a person? Because Haru thought that it might be. Makoto had seemed so confused and so out of it at school yesterday that Haru began to pessimistically speculate that he might have indeed broken his own boyfriend.

All day Makoto had been moping around, bumping into things and generally forgetting how to interact with people, he'd even had a worryingly long conversation with a structural pillar that for some reason he'd been under the mistaken impression was his blue haired teammate Rei. Obviously Nagisa found that particular instance completely hilarious and Rei was quite rightly appalled, but soon enough Haru wasn't the only one to show his concern for Makoto's health and well being.

But Haru just couldn't understand it, he'd only barely started to put his seductive plan into action, and Makoto was already a shell of his formerly jovial self. This was exactly the outcome he'd been trying to avoid. Was it because he'd called him Mako-chan? Because in fairness he'd never tried doing that before, but surely a simple nickname was incapable of inducing such a total meltdown of this magnitude.

Moreover, because he'd spent the previous evening planning and scheming all the myriad ways he could conceivably drive Makoto crazy with desire, he'd inadvertently stoked the fires of lust within himself and was now completely obsessed with getting into his boyfriend's pants, and it had been all he could do to stop himself from sneaking over to his house in the middle of the night. Well, this had definitely backfired. It seemed conclusive evidence that Haru could not be trusted to implement his own ideas without Makoto to vet them first. And now his precious boyfriend had lost his mind. What would he tell the Tachibanas? The twins?

This rather unhinged line of reasoning lead Haru to begin his day as a frustrated, and somewhat paranoid ball of nervous energy. In fact the very antithesis of the self assured, almost smug attitude he'd garnered the day before while sitting in this very same bath tub, waiting for his boyfriend to pick him up before school.

When he'd heard the backdoor's telltale rattle Haru had readied himself for action, but then Makoto had haphazardly stumbled through the bathroom door seemingly unaware that he'd knocked over a fresh bale of towels in the process, and after completing a small circuit of the room had wished Haru a good morning and continued on to walk straight back out and into the kitchen. Haru had remained half submerged but fully confused as he sat in his now alarmingly still bathroom, Makoto had forgotten to help him out of the bath, that had never happened before. He quickly scanned his brain for any helpful precedent, but came up with nothing, so in the absence of an alternative he did the unheard of and got himself out of the bath to go enquire as to his boyfriend's bizarre state of mind. That had been when the creeping unease had set in, and his bravado dried up as quickly as raindrops on a summers day.

So it wasn't all that surprising, given the previous day spent on constant alert as he babysat his dopey boyfriend like a ward nurse looking after a sleepwalking patient, that the prospect of Makoto arriving in the same, or god forbid worse, state had Haru on tenterhooks as he soaked in the bath that treacherously provided him with unusually low levels of comfort. On the one hand he was anxious to set eyes upon his oldest friend and lover, mainly of course because he was worried for his sanity, but also just a little because the back of his mind wouldn't stop its incessant sketching of the detailed portraits of broad back and large hands. Conversely, he was still a little apprehensive, he felt responsible for Makoto's current state and he wasn't as good at fixing people as his benevolent boyfriend.

But today, as he fruitlessly surfaced from a distinctly lacklustre session in his contemplative pool, Haru repeatedly attempted to clear the water that presumably blocked his ears, because if he wasn't very much mistaken he could hear the sound of whistling. Perhaps Makoto's delirium was contagious.

But sure enough, a minute or two later the customary footsteps of his afore mentioned boyfriend could be heard padding along the landing as he made his way towards the bathroom. And he was whistling. Haru froze to consider the implications of this terrifying new development, and an eerie chill prickled over the back of his neck as he inwardly questioned how things had gone downhill so quickly.

Moments later Makoto came strolling through the door still slowly chirping his tunefully bird-like song, and he casually flipped the waiting towel over his shoulder before unambiguously holding out his steady palm to assist Haru back onto dry land.

"Good morning Haru-chan" he practically sing-songed and then capped it off with a head tilt and smile.

What the hell. Haru stared at the outstretched hand for a long moment before shifting his incredulous gaze along his arm and up to rest on Makoto's still inexplicably affable face. Haru slowly rose from the bath tub with fervid intent, the water sluicing off his body like a submarine breaching the surface. He strode firmly out of the tub disregarding the proffered hand, causing Makoto to take a surprised pace backwards, and when he tentatively held out the towel Haru dismissively cast it to the ground with a sweep of his hand.

"Haru-chan?"

"Makoto" Haru followed quickly but with a strangely cool tone, his sapphire eyes fixing him with an intense stare that seemed to burrow into his very soul. Haru offered nothing further, and Makoto began to sweat, unable to disengage from that hypnotising glare.

"Uh, Haru-chan?" Makoto repeated nervously, but cut himself off when Haru advanced on him and he reflexively took a step back, inadvertently pushing the the bathroom door closed in his retreat and effectively barring his single means of escape.

Haru pushed the taller boy flat against the bathroom door using only the weight of his proximity and unusually tense posture, he placed a commanding hand against the wooden surface just above Makoto's shoulder but otherwise merely engaged his intimidating presence to keep him pinned in place. Of course in reality Makoto could quite easily have overpowered him, being taller and stronger as he was. But although Makoto tended to be the more domineering of the two when they were physical, that was after all the way that Haru liked it - seeing his lover being selfish and demanding for once - when Haru occasionally pulled rank on him Makoto found himself utterly helpless to resist.

"What's going on?" Haru finally asked through lips that barely moved.

"Wha- what do you mean?" Makoto stuttered, looking like cornered pray.

"You've been acting strange"

"You're acting pretty strange yourself Haru-chan..." His attempt at humour only serving to exaggerate his rattled nerves.

"I'm serious," and Haru's eyes softened almost imperceptibly "I've been worried" he admitted, the concern finally showing on his features as he searched Makoto's face.

Makoto didn't know wether to laugh or cry, so he settled for a small sheepish curl of his lips, before shakily letting out a resigned breath that carried over to ruffle trough Haru's hair.

"Sorry for making you worry. I've had trouble sleeping, I was just so exhausted from being kept awake that's all... But last night I slept straight through" and he gave a hopefully reassuring chuckle. Haru bowed his head to rest on Makoto's shoulder and his body went noticeably limp with relief.

"Haru-chan?" Makoto questioned softly as he attempted to crane his neck to get a look at his face but was restricted by the surface behind him.

"I thought it was my fault" Haru murmured against Makoto's shoulder, sending a heated blush climbing its way up his neck.

"Hmm," Makoto hummed sweetly, placing a consoling hand on the shoulder that Haru wasn't using to prop himself against the door with. "In a way it kind of is your fault... You've been very sneaky Haru-chan, you're the one who's been keeping me awake after all." He teased gently as his sympathetic fingers absently kneaded at stress induced knots.

"Oh?" Haru retorted with mock scepticism as he lifted his head, "it's my fault you were acting like a complete basket case all day is it?" A tiny smirk creeping onto his lips and his pupils flashing with mischief as they dilated "then perhaps I should take responsibility..."

Before Makoto could even think about retracting his outrageous accusation Haru had already closed the small distance between them and flicked his tongue across Makoto's bottom lip, pressing his naked chest against fully clothed front in the process as he stood on his toes. Makoto gasped his surprise, affording Haru the opportunity to deepen the kiss, and his starved body instinctively reached out its hands to encircle the shorter boy's slim waist. Haru stoked his tongue into his boyfriend's welcoming mouth, eliciting a groan as he slowly drew his knee upwards to brush against Makoto's outer thigh and hip.

"Mmn, Haru... We shouldn't" Makoto whined, his words running contrary to his actions as he continued to kiss around their delivery.

"It's fine" Haru stated simply before quickly resuming his monopoly on Makoto's lips.

"Haru-chan..." Yet he continued regardless.

"It's fine... Just this once, it'll be fine" and as if to reiterate, he twisted his fingers into the hair at the back of Makoto's head, knowing full well it to be one of his many weak spots.

"Nngh," Makoto moaned at the delicious twinge of pain, but forced himself to pull back before they reached the point of no return. He couldn't however resist pressing a cluster of butterfly kisses to Haru's mouth and jaw at the subconscious expression of deprivation that flickered across his face. "We're... Going to be... Late for... School..." He said between softly applying his lips to Haru's smooth receptive skin.

Haru let himself be pushed backwards by the shoulders, and Makoto reached down to pick up the fallen towel before wrapping it dotingly around the tops of his boyfriend's arms.

"And you haven't even had breakfast yet" Makoto admonished, sounding like a mother hen.

"I'll eat on the way," Haru shrugged, and then rather impishly added "I accidentally made a fridge-full of mackerel onigiri whilst you were getting your beauty sleep last night"

 

>* ))))><

 

Throughout the ensuing day, Haru and Makoto exchanged a near constant stream of lingering glances, pining for more of those erstwhile touches that not only failed to quench their mutual longing, but had ignited a slow burning heat between them that was at once both tortuous and exhilarating. There was still a palpable tension between them, Makoto having resolutely insisted on upholding their almost puritanical regime of self discipline, but his jittery nervousness had since evaporated, leaving only the slowly smouldering embers of need in its wake.

Haru's uncharacteristically strong reaction that morning had gone some way into quelling his newly discovered yet apparently deep-seated anxieties, but Tachibana Makoto was to his fault a man of principles, and they'd already pledged their solemn allegiance to the cause of enforced chastity for increased athletic gain. Besides, it was already Thursday.

The team of four were currently in transit, taking the short train journey over to Samezuka Academy for their weekly joint practice. The sun was already starting to ascend through pillowy wisps of low lying cloud as it washed the sky in warm tones, reaching out its amber beams and caressing the faces of the quietly contented passengers. Through the gap in the seats in front of them Makoto could just barely make out the back of Nagisa's head as he rested on Rei's shoulder, his boyfriend reading aloud in hushed tones an excerpt from one of their many text books. The tender scene sent an almost paternal smile ghosting across his lips and he shifted his gaze to watch the trees and anonymous little houses cruise past the window of their near empty carriage.

Makoto noticeably jumped when he felt the very tips of featherlight fingers dance across the back of his hand where it lay at ease upon the arm rest. He glanced sideways at Haru, who was sitting curled inward in his aisle seat, his blue eyes lazily running over the taller boy as he continued to take liberties with his touch.

"Haru-chan..." Makoto warned, turning his head to regard the little sex pixie that sat beside him. Haru pouted slightly as he ran his hand further up Makoto's arm, paying no heed to his boyfriend's stifled opposition. If Makoto hadn't spent the day so perpetually horny, he might have laughed at Haru's distinctly feline antics, but as it was it sent an excited thrill darting through his body and a dangerous heat pooling in the pit of his stomach.

Makoto watched transfixed as Haru slowly licked his lips, meaning he missed the advance of his serpentine hand as it slid its way onto his thigh. Makoto's gasp was thankfully breathy as he brought his heavy lidded pupils up to connect with the sultry eyes that studied his face. He really should be putting his foot down at this point, but for some reason he'd currently lost all of his moral convictions.

"Haru, this is a very bad idea..." He said trying not to alert their kids in the seat in front, but he couldn't hide the flickers of pleasure that betrayed his face as Haru's fingers edged towards his groin.

"You should stop me then" Haru challenged softly as he cupped him through his trousers, and despite himself Makoto's eyes fell closed as he tipped his head back in the seat with a shudder. Haru massaged his thumb against the outline of his cock, fingers undulating at a maddeningly slow pace, and Makoto found himself subtly bucking his hips as he felt himself growing hard under Haru's talented palm.

Suddenly the train stopped at a backwater station, and a resultant bustle ensued as a few fellow passengers got on and found their way to their seats. Makoto's eyes shot open in panic as he belatedly realised where he was, but Haru had seemingly anticipated their stop and calmly brought his tracksuit jacket to lie across Makoto's lap, effectively shielding their activity in the process. They sat in silence as they waited for the train to disembark, Haru infuriatingly nonchalant seeing as though he currently had his hand on his boyfriend's cock, and Makoto sitting their stiffly, in more ways than one.

As they started to move away, the conductor came past them down the aisle and was thankfully oblivious to the sordid little scene that was playing out in front of him, after he'd passed Haru refocused his attention and resumed his previous movements with a renewed vigour. Makoto let out a moan and had to cover it with a subsequent cough, he was rapidly beginning to loose what little control he had left. With effort he shifted the hand that had been glued to the armrest and brought it down into his lap, stilling Haru's actions under the jacket. He placed his hand over Haru's, which remained cradling his erection, and the shorter boy accordingly sat back in his chair. Makoto stroked his knuckles gratefully through the satiny garment, and Haru retrieved his hand so they could intertwine their fingers on the arm rest.

Makoto sighed as he willed his erection to subside. How could it only be Thursday?

 

>* ))))><

 

Joint practice went well, it felt good for them all to expend their frustrated energy in a regime approved manner, and the healthy rivalry between the Iwatobi and Samezuka boys was gratefully exploited to further their satisfaction. The first time seeing Rin since that god awful meeting at the beginning of the week was undoubtably awkward, and the initial conversations were stilted at best.

Nagisa had bounded up to him, tactless as he tended to be, and without warning or even a proper greeting had slung his arm around the redhead's shoulder and thoroughly invaded his personal space.

"Rin-rin! You're so scary as the captain!" He enthused, and watched with interest the irritated vein that protruded from his friend's face.

"Get off me dumbass!" Rin growled and physically removed the small blond from his person.

"So scary!" Nagisa tutted good naturedly and shook his head. Rei stood by mutely, and when Rin looked to him for help, he flushed bright red and bowed dramatically.

"I... I'm sorry Rin-senpai!" He blurted his remorse.

The awkward atmosphere really got going when next Haru and Makoto arrived, they'd had to walk a little slower due to the latter's trouser related issues. Makoto rubbed the back of his neck and looked anywhere but in his friend's direction, he mumbled an apology about the position they'd all put him in and Rin accepted with a pained expression, keen to put the whole thing behind them. His crimson eyes then fell on Haru and they both stared at each other for a second.

"Let's not."

"Hm" Haru nodded.

The rest of practice went relatively smoothly, barring a minor incident towards the end when Rin had challenged Haru to a race. As they were making their way towards the blocks, Rin had laughed to himself as if he'd just thought of something amusing and turned to Haru with a glint in his eye.

"Now, you're gonna have to focus on swimming for a minute if you wanna beat me, if it's not too difficult to keep your eyes off your boyfriend that is" Rin quipped with a massive toothy grin.

"That depends," Haru dead panned "have you taken it from Sosuke lately?"

Rin practically choked and he instantly launched himself at Haru to seize him it a headlock.

"Haru!" Makoto shouted as he darted over to pull them apart, it was mostly just his over protective nature kicking into gear, but he'd also be embarrassed to admit that he'd felt a pang of jealousy strike trough him when he'd seen Rin so casually touching the body he had to constantly fight with himself not to simply ravish. And it must have shown on his face because Rin blatantly rolled his eyes before patting him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, he's all yours big man" Rin teased before carrying on towards the end of the pool.

"Thanks" Haru said quietly and reached up on his toes to brush their lips together.

Makoto watched him go in disbelief, and was silently joined by Sosuke who'd been hovering near by.

"He's honestly trying to kill me" Makoto murmured, still eyeing Haru's lithe frame.

"I hear that" Sosuke agreed next to him, and their heads simultaneously tilted to the side as they watched the statuesque pair take up their starting stance.

 

 

 


	5. Anticipation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the lovely support! Hope you enjoy...

Haru had never really been one for lie-ins. The exception of course being when Makoto was with him, and he'd wake up safely enveloped in his boyfriend's strong arms as his body heat soaked deep into his skin like he was made of molten sunshine. Makoto was always warm, perhaps it was their difference in size and build but Haru tended to feel the cold a lot quicker. It suited him, warm heart warm hands as they say.

Ever since childhood Haru had always been somewhat of an early riser, his brain automatically surfacing from its restful oblivion at even the very slightest appearance of daylight. So on the occasions when he awoke next to his invariably still slumbering lover, Haru would lie there contented, patiently waiting for his sweetly sleeping boyfriend to join him in the dawn of the waking world. He used that time to quietly process his thoughts, sometimes attempting to analyse the various people or events in their lives, but more often than not his reflections would just linger on Makoto, his breathing instinctively stepping into sync with the slow rise and fall of the chest beside him.

Being wrapped in Makoto's arms like that, for he was very much the clingy type, was like the human equivalent of being submerged in a warm bath tub. It gave him the same feeling of peaceful composure, where his philosophical mind could wonder as freely and smoothly as if it too were made of liquid. He'd never tried to explain this peculiar form of clarity he experienced in these two instances, that to him Makoto was like water personified, but for some reason he had the feeling that his oldest friend probably already knew.

On mornings like this however, during the long school week when Makoto generally stayed at his own house, Haru would swing his feet out of bed almost immediately upon waking, and after pausing only a moment to stretch and rub the night from his eyes would proceed through his usual routine as if it were merely second nature. As long as he didn't spend too much time setting the rice cooker going or putting his laundry out to dry, he could get a good couple of soaking hours in before he'd have to go to school, and somehow this was usually enough to push the little reset button located somewhere in the back of his mind.

But today was different. He'd woken abruptly in the early hours, sweating and heaving for air, and it had taken a long hazy minute for his brain to disentangle the groping threads of his incredibly lucid dream from the gradual cooling focus of reality. He lay there rapidly gasping and achingly hard, the phantom caress of Makoto's lustful fingers still echoing across his heated skin. Haru swallowed thickly as he brought the back of his hand up to wipe at his mouth, his bangs sticking in clumped strands to his forehead with clammy perspiration. But as he shifted he found he couldn't ignore the straining tension throbbing at his groin, and so with a frustrated sigh he somewhat hesitantly lifted the stifling bed sheets in order that he might assess the situation a little better.

His impressive erection loomed back at him from under the covers, a darkened damp patch evident on his boxers where the precum soaked through at the tip. But it was clear he had woken before he'd had a chance to release, the unmistakable tightness in his balls still clouding his fragile mind. Vivid flashes of himself and Makoto in debauched embraces flickered across the backs of his eyelids, a pornographic stage play directed by his own rampant subconscious.

He'd seen closeups of shining green eyes looking down on him as their bodies rocked in tandem, large hands spanning his sensitive hip bones and heavenly lips trailing across his chest, smiling as they ingratiated themselves with his stiffened nipples. He'd heard Makoto's low rumbling murmurs at his ear, gentle praise and dirty words sailed on hot breaths, punctuated by little shocks from nibbling teeth. It had been at once both sensuously slow and urgently frenzied, a perverted torrent of everything he'd ever experienced during their short but varied sex life.

If he woke like this when Makoto was with him, he'd wait for his boyfriend to rouse and then initiate slowly escalating morning sex, or if they had places to be, Makoto would enthusiastically jerk him off whilst studying his face intently. But Makoto was not here, and had also inadvertently let it slip that he'd even been abstaining from pleasuring himself during this monastical week of a sexless diet. This was probably karma for being such a tease on the train yesterday, he was so hard right now, but he just couldn't bring himself to apply his touch, knowing that Makoto was willingly going without.

Unfortunately, this unequivocally bad start also had a knock on effect to the rest of his regular morning ritual, his distracting state of arousal precluding his usual session of tub based aquatic therapy. He instinctively knew that his already stimulated body could not be trusted to luxuriate in water without getting carried away. To him, even the surface tension whilst adrift in a calm pool for instance, could take on the likeness of ethereal fingers caressing velvety strokes across the exposed skin that it clung to. If the freshly evoked erotic memories of Makoto and the beguiling properties of water decided to collude against him, there would be no hope of him ever retaining a semblance of control over the situation. Even the universally recognised panacea that was the cold shower was out of bounds for Haru, the heady sensation of being so thoroughly rained upon would surely have blown his already addled mind.

At a quarter past seven, Makoto bounded up the concrete steps two at a time, his Friday feeling was already vastly surpassing his outright rejuvenation after the twelve hour coma he'd experienced on the night before last. The birds were singing, the sun was gently warming, and today was their last full day before the swim meet tomorrow. Life was good.

His thoughts settled on Haru, and his stomach flipped in excitement at the many sexual favours his boyfriend had promised to fulfil when this was thankfully all over. The shorter boy had sheepishly apologised for his Impetuous actions on the train whilst they'd walked home after joint practice, and Makoto had simply smirked at his cutely blushing remorse.

"Don't be sorry. It felt good" and he slowly licked his lips in remembrance.

"I just miss you..." Haru said quietly, eyes focused on his boyfriend's sweeping tongue, his need obviously overriding his usual stoicism.

"I know," Makoto huffed in frustration "it's crazy, it's not like we haven't gone this long before... But I just can't stop thinking about you" and he suddenly had to fight against the very pressing impulse to pounce.

"Hm" Haru agreed, his monosyllabic reply somehow entirely conveying all of his forlorn hopes. But then he had stopped dead in his tracks, one eyebrow quirked and a small roguish smile playing across his lips. Makoto paused moments later when he realised Haru was no longer walking by his side, and as he turned he inwardly groaned, he knew that look.

"Haru-chan?" He asked cautiously, his pulse involuntarily quickening.

"So, we can't be together," Haru mused to himself before shifting his focus to his weary boyfriend, "but tonight I could call you up... when you're in bed, and we could pretend we were touching each other and -"

"Haru!" Makoto interrupted, having quickly seen the slippery slope of his boyfriend's lewd thought process. His mouth regardlessly went dry at the idea alone, and he silently filed that particular concept away for later use, now aware that it was something Haru might potentially be in to. "Um, I still think that might be classed as cheating," he said in hushed tones as he looked around for unsuspecting pedestrians "h-have you been, you know... doing that?" He enquired with a gulp, his throat now officially parched.

"No, have you?" Haru replied with dark interest. It was now Makoto's turn to flush pink with embarrassment.

"Ah! No of course not!" He proclaimed earnestly, "it has been quite difficult not to though..." He trailed off unable to further his explanation verbally, the pure want seeping into his heavy emerald pupils. Haru had swallowed noticeably hard before attempting to regain his cool composure.

"Don't worry, it will be over soon. Stay strong Makoto." And then he had reached up with a smirk and proceeded to whisper a heated string of absolute filth, causing Makoto's eyes to widen as he listened eagerly to his profoundly indecent intentions. Makoto couldn't wait.

Unfortunately his newly cultivated positive outlook became instantly tarnished the moment Makoto ambled into the bathroom, finding the empty tub as dry as the towels that still hung on the rail. Where was Haru? An immediate sinking feeling dug into his guts, there had to be something wrong for his obstinate water fanatic of a boyfriend to miss out on his morning fix. Makoto's heart felt uncomfortably constricted, his pulse rapidly accelerating as he made his panicked way towards the apparently silent bedroom of the person for whom he cared most in the world.

"Haru?" He called as he entered without knocking, his eyes flitting anxiously around the room. A mixture of relief and concern settled in his chest as soon as he noticed the shape of Haru's body completely shrouded under the bed covers, his laboured breathing evident as it moved up and down. "Haru-chan? Are you sick?" He questioned gently, trepidation showing through in his voice as he shuffled closer, "I'll go call the doctor..." But before he could fully turn to leave, Haru's quivering hand shot out from under the sheets to grasp needfully at his wrist, his noticeably high temperature seeming to signal some kind of fever.

"Haru-chan, are you alright?" He gasped. Haru was very rarely ill, but he couldn't even stand to see him suffer on the occasion when he'd just get a chill from swimming too early or walking around in wet clothes.

"Makoto..." Haru exhaled breathily, and Makoto knelt down by the side of the bed, their fingers intertwining in the process.

"What is it Haru-chan? Is there something wrong, can I get you anything?"

"Please," Haru's strained voice continued from under the blankets "Makoto stop talking, your making it worse" and a shiver ran down his arm and into his boyfriend's fingers. Makoto was perplexed, but he suddenly had the overwhelming compulsion to see Haru's face. He peeled back the covers and was presented with the sight of his usually sedate boyfriend lying flat on his back, a flushed and quivering mess. He instantly understood the situation, being familiar with the way Haru had his forearm draped across his face and his shallow panting that seemed to carry little whimpers out into the comparative stillness of the room.

"Why don't you let me take care of it..." And he let go of his hand to slide his own down Haru's sweat dampened chest. Haru quickly seized him by the wrist once more, his dilated pupils peeking out from under his shielding forearm.

"If Makoto has been holding back, then so will I" his reasoning, if a little stubborn, was sound enough. With his libido at such a dangerously high level, Makoto could definitely see one thing leading to another.

He leaned away in resignation and then shifted to sit on the floor, facing away from Haru with his back resting against the bed. Their fingers remained connected on the mattress behind him. Makoto was deep in thought for several minutes, it was obvious that Haru could not have handled his morning ablutions what with all the water, and although he wasn't technically sick, it was still hard for Makoto to see him in such discomfort. Suddenly he knew exactly what he could do.

With a gentle but serious tone, Makoto went about solemnly describing all of the many times he'd been stressed out or frightened and how it had made him feel. He then continued on to recount how on each of those occasions it had been Haru that had calmed him down and made everything seem alright. As he talked the grip on Makoto's hand gradually became stronger, the sound of Haru's laboured breaths slowly beginning to subside.

 

>* ))))><

 

That school day had been so incredibly long. It was that strange paradox that seemingly occurred where time passed by slower in direct correlation to how much it was willed to hasten. To all intense an purpose it was just another Friday, but to the swimmers it had that 'last day before summer break' atmosphere about it, even though it was still only the middle of spring term. Classes were vastly more boring than usual, in fact Makoto was sure that their teacher was dragging out his convoluted speech on purpose, in order to push the end of the day even further out of his reach.

Lunchtime had been pleasantly diverting, time spent with the team in their usual spot on the roof was always lively, but for some reason today seemed extra specially dynamic. Nagisa had been on top form and even Rei had been not so inhibited, Haru had shocked everyone by making a self deprecating quip about water and Makoto had beamed with pride as everybody laughed at his boyfriend's little joke. They talked with enthusiasm about the competition scheduled for the following day, but they all miraculously managed to steer the conversation around the giant elephant in the room. Even Nagisa failed to bring up the prospect of finally getting laid, seemed it was a touchy subject all round.

There was however an odd occurrence at the end of their break, just about the time when they were packing up the scattered bentos and school bags that lay haphazardly around their little piece of territory. Gou had walked by with her usual pile of books in hand and she'd been chatting with her classmate Chigusa, but as she'd passed she fixed each of the boys in turn with a strange calculating stare as if silently appraising them. When she'd gone the teammates had exchanged baffled glances, but then the bell had sounded and it was time for them all to go to their respective classes.

By the time that afternoon's practice finally rolled round that bizarre rooftop incident had however all but been forgotten, and as was usual the day before a tournament the boys spent just over half the session on their starts and changes before taking some time to relax in the water. It was important not to overexert themselves too much, and so whilst Rei valiantly defended himself against Nagisa's patented splash attack, Makoto and Haru floated aimlessly around the pool together, sometimes submerging to sit at the bottom, but mostly just looking up at the temperate sky as they drifted.

"Ne Haru-chan," Makoto began wistfully "I'm so glad I get to share swimming with you."

"Hm"

 

>* ))))><

 

On the walk home, Makoto couldn't help staring at Haru's face through sneaky sidelong glances. He looked the most relaxed he'd seen him in days and Makoto was thankful, if not a little jealous of his affinity with the water. It was good to see him contented and the feeling inevitably rubbed off on him, most people didn't fully grasp how much of an intense personality Haru possessed, and Makoto classed himself of one of the very few connoisseurs who really knew how to appreciate him.

"Makoto" Haru bluntly interrupted his contemplations. Shit, getting caught staring was becoming a habit.

"Uh, what is it Haru-chan?" He asked innocently.

"Are you coming over?" And Makoto looked around to realise that they were indeed already standing at the foot of their concrete steps. Obviously he'd not been thinking that far ahead, having been somewhat distracted by his boyfriend's many finer points, and the sudden implications of Haru's question made him feel so nervous that it was actually ridiculous.

"I'm not sure that's a very good idea..." He said with effort as he tried to block out the images of what they'd usually be doing together on a Friday night, alone in Haru's house.

And to his credit, Haru deployed the highly effective combination of lip pout and puppy eyes, tactics which Makoto himself usually used against him in similar situations, and the results were so utterly devastating that the latter could only nod his eager and suddenly miraculously new found agreement.

They played video games and Makoto kept Haru company in the kitchen whilst he cooked them some dinner, in fact, it was very much like any other night from over the many years that they'd been having sleepovers. Events took a turn away from the strictly platonic however, when after eating they decided to watch a movie, and indeed its distractive potential it had seemed like a good idea at the time.

Whilst Makoto busied himself setting up the film, a fairly middle of the road comedy that was sure to keep the slowly condensing atmosphere lighter for a little longer, Haru put the newly cleaned dishes away and then made his way up the stairs to join his boyfriend in his room.

Makoto was just settling back in his blanket after pressing play when Haru handed him one side of their customary blue soda flavoured Popsicles, and thinking nothing of it Makoto accepted with a little tap of the two sides together as if they were clinking newly charged flutes of champagne.

He lasted nine minutes into the admittedly terrible movie until he gave up all pretence of being covert and just blatantly gawked at the salacious scene that was taking place just a few inches to his left. Haru was still diligently ploughing on with the inane movie, but what was more noticeable was what he was doing with his mouth.

Unaware that Makoto was now fixating on him so intently, Haru was sucking and licking at the incredibly phallic looking piece of flavoured ice, his tongue swirling around it obscenely and making little wet noises in the process. Makoto let out a quiet groan, his own Popsicle having already stilled in his lips. He may even have drooled a little.

When Haru eventually noticed Makoto's eyes on him he shot him a questioning glance, but had to double take at the pure animal lust that was plastered across his usually serene face. He pulled the frozen treat from his lips with a pop and opened his mouth to ask what the hell he'd missed, but before he could speak Makoto guided his elbow back up and slid the cold object back onto his tongue.

Haru gagged for a second as his mind raced to keep up, but he got the gist pretty quickly when Makoto began gently pumping it in and out in a rhythmic motion, his face a picture of concentrated desire. Oh.

Haru whimpered as his eyes locked with green, his mouth and tongue finally rejoining the party as he began licking and slurping around the cold icy shaft, his cheeks hollowing and humming in the way he knew Makoto liked.

If circumstances were different, Makoto knew that he'd be taking his own piece of ice and putting it to good use tantalising Haru's beautiful body, perhaps running it over his flushed skin, flicking it over his sensitive nipples. But as it was he knew he couldn't, he'd never be able to hold back if he saw him writhing in pleasure beneath his touch. Just as that delicious image consolidated in his mind, Haru let out an especially erotic moan and Makoto reflexively bit down to stifle his own, and in the process rather impressively shattering his own Popsicle. Large shards of blue ice fell from the redundant stick into his overly sensitised lap, and he gasped and hissed whilst he struggled to retrieve them.

"Aw, you finished without me" Haru teased, and the grin on his face made Makoto burst into fits of bubbling laughter.

 

 

 


	6. Score

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter. Hope you enjoy...

 

 

The buoyant frenetic energy was almost palpable in the locker room as they changed to get ready for the long awaited competition, and Makoto found he couldn't prevent the ridiculously moronic grin from practically splitting his face in two. But actually, he didn't care one bit if he looked like a crazy person, because in a matter of hours he'd be taking Haru home, and they'd be free to do whatever they wanted. Repeatedly.

He'd found it more difficult to get to sleep the previous night, not only was there the regular mix of nerves and excitement about the upcoming tournament but for the first time in a long while, he'd slept on the spare futon instead of claiming his usual spot in Haru's bed. Their beds were obviously only single sized, and although it was cramped they normally got round the lack of space by having Haru lie slightly on top of him or curling his flexible body into Makoto's larger frame. Perhaps he'll miss it when they eventually get their own double bed. He'd finally succeeded in falling asleep, his fingers still intertwined with those that dangled down from Haru's more elevated position, but regardless it was no substitute for holding him snug in his arms whilst they drifted off together.

Having said that, he'd woken that morning like a six year old on his birthday and had relished in the rare treat of being able to shake his still unconscious boyfriend awake, Haru of course usually having the infuriating knack of rousing before he did. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't taken a moment to admire his sleeping lover, lying stretched out in the early morning light like a cat in the sun, his arm still reaching out for Makoto. Yes he'd sat there for a minute whilst his heart expanded with adoration, but then his excitement had gotten the better of him and he'd unceremoniously accosted his boyfriend like the house was on fire. Haru had been grumpy and tried to play it cool, but nonetheless he'd still subsequently gotten up as quick as a flash and begun bustling around in preparation.

And now here they were, in the large communal locker rooms getting ready for their heavily anticipated swim meet. Rei and Nagisa looked especially tense as they paced around each other, the smaller one biting at the cuff of his tracksuit. Makoto supposed everyone coped with nerves in different ways, and he found it kind of cute how they seemed to be mirroring each other, although quite frankly he'd be finding anything cute round about now, he was just so happy.

Makoto heard more than saw the loud clap of Rin smacking Haru on the shoulder and when he turned, the shark toothed redhead quickly retracted the offending hand whilst he cocked one of his angular brows sarcastically. Ah, Makoto thought, he's teasing me isn't he. He didn't really see himself as the jealous type, not between friends anyway, but that show of passiveness he'd inadvertently displayed when he'd sprinted over to release Haru from Rin's grasp the other day kind of said otherwise.

"Morning Rin-chan" he beamed, for not even embarrassment could sully his chipper mood. Rin looked somewhat disappointed.

"Yeah whatever, you guys ready to race?" clearly addressing Haru more than anyone else. Haru simply huffed as he zipped up his Iwatobi tracksuit, and with a shrug Rin decided to take that as a yes, before returning to his team to no doubt deliver a gruff, but stirring speech for inspirational purposes.

They made their way up to join Coach Sasabe and Gou in the bleachers, leaving Rei behind to warm up as his event was one of the first in the programme. Nagisa had sneakily kissed him good luck and offered his intense encouragement, and Rei had shakily proclaimed his intentions to do his best as his cheeks quickly flushed dark pink.

"He seems nervous" Makoto observed as they climbed the stairs to find their seats, and Nagisa only hummed in worried agreement.

It seemed they had cause for concern, because Rei's inexperience had obviously let the tension get the better of him and his butterfly was rigid and out of sync and resultantly he came in at fourth place, narrowly missing out on progression. Nagisa looked like he was about to cry and the group fell into troubled silence as they watched their dejected teammate exit the pool.

Makoto had little time to dwell on their disappointment however, because the backstroke heat was rapidly approaching and it was his turn to make his solitary trip down to the warmup area. Haru had stroked a hand lightly across his clothed chest and down his solid abdomen, and he'd followed up by stretching so their lips were barely touching before whispering his goodwill in a breathy incentive before teasingly pulling away. It had the desired effect and Makoto felt the adrenalin seep into his bloodstream, and he caught Haru's slender wrist to place a cheeky kiss to the back of his hand before turning and quickly making his way out of the stands.

He felt a strange form of confidence descend over him as he took up his hunched starting position, in some respects he didn't actually care how well he did, he was just so glad to be finally getting this over with. On the other hand, he wanted it all to be worth it and of course make the team proud of him, and this feeling of ambivalence afforded him a certain freedom that he'd never before experienced during competition. Consequently as he steamed in at first place he felt an overriding sense of accomplishment, and as he caught his breath he could've sworn he heard Haru shouting for him in the crowd. He didn't even feel exhausted, he was still buzzing and he couldn't wait to expend the rest of his energy on something equally athletic but vastly more satisfying.

Once he'd finally rejoined the rest of the group it was already time to bid Nagisa good luck before he too made his way poolside, but everyone greeted him with enthusiastic praise, and even Rei expressed his earnest congratulations. Haru interlocked their fingers and kissed his knuckles in silent homage, and they happily turned to focus on the little blond as he filed out to begin his race.

Something must be terribly wrong. Nagisa limped in at last place, a slightly pained expression visible on his face and his shocked teammates couldn't help but rush down to help him out of the water. As the other competitors drifted away Nagisa stood with his hands on his knees with his head lowered and he struggled to catch his breath.

"Nagisa-chan," Makoto asked softly "are you alright?" But as the shorter boy sraightened, it wasn't pain or sadness that was present on his face but guilt. Makoto looked at him in confusion, but then his eyes travelled down to his waist and his bewilderment was compounded even further by what looked like paint dripping down Nagisa's pale thighs. Makoto's baffled eyes searched for an explanation but quickly refocused on the conspicuous group of bruises that had been recently revealed around his hips. Hand shaped bruises. He gasped dramatically and his glare shot up to the face of the little traitor.

"Ah, mako-chan don't be mad! We only did it once - last night, we couldn't wait!" He'd attempted to sound apologetic but had missed the mark considerably, "I tried to cover it over with my sister's make-up, but it looks like it wasn't waterproof" he laughed nervously at Makoto's scandalised face.

Rei groaned and he removed his own jacket to place it around his boyfriend's shoulders, albeit barring the gate after the horse had bolted. Haru's cool gaze turned on his blue haired junior and the latter froze as he reached out to peel a soggy plaster from his collarbone, revealing a rather impressive freshly administered lovebite underneath.

"I can't believe you two!" Makoto let out in an uncharacteristically agitated tone, and after a short moment of considering their options Rei bowed his head emphatically low, his hand forcing down the blond crown of his boyfriend to reciprocate his shame.

The tense moment was interrupted by Rin as he sauntered straight past the remorseful tableau in order to confront Haru, squaring up to him and jeering in that particularly galling manner that he was somehow so proficient at.

"We're up next Nanase, you've got no chance" he growled and poked his finger into Haru's chest.

Makoto pulled his boyfriend away by the shoulder and pivoted so he positioned himself between them protectively, Haru gasped at the quick change but Makoto merely caught his chin to tilt it upwards towards his own face.

"Destroy him" he ordered in a low sultry tone, and Haru could only nod mutely as they stared into each other's fiery eyes.

Rin rolled his own before moving away to find his starting block and Haru promptly followed suit, putting on his swimming cap and goggles before getting into position.

Makoto watched as Haru's lithe body seemed to arc through the air in slow motion, he'd gotten a good push off the block and had instantly began pulling ahead of the competition. He stood fixated at the side of the pool, his fists clenched tight and his jaw set, he'd always found it riveting to watch his oldest friend swim, but knowing he was powering through the waves with such determination just for him sent a thrill pulsing through his body like an echoing homing beacon.

Haru turned skilfully and was soon on his last lap, Rin must have sensed the impending finish because he chose that point to begin dragging himself through the water with renewed competitive force and pure brute strength, he was now less than half a body length behind Haru as he lead the pack and he seemed to be gaining fast. Makoto jumped and shouted his impassioned encouragement from the top of his lungs, drowning out the loud cheers emitted by his two juniors who'd loitered a few paces behind. Haru surged on, his lean arms slicing through the pool as if it was what he'd been built to do, his long legs kicking rhythmically in a slick motion more akin to a sea creature than a man.

Hands slapped against the sensor pads on the pool edge, and Haru breached the surface gasping for air and sending droplets flying in all directions at the lively disturbance. He pulled off his cap and goggles with a shake of his inky black hair, and still inhaling deeply looked up to the scoreboard to search for his name. He'd done it. He'd beaten Rin by nearly two whole seconds, and the splash of a frustrated fist hitting against the water in the lane beside him made it clear that Rin had realised it too.

A large familiar hand descended into his field of vision, and Haru followed it up to see Makoto leaning down and offering his jubilant assistance. Green eyes were full of pride and excitement, and Haru squeezed his fingers around the proffered wrist extra tightly as he was helped out of the water.

"You did so well Haru-chan!" Makoto gushed, and his sentiment was duly concurred by the rest of their team. Haru let himself be coddled for a moment by his ecstatic boyfriend before casting a concerned glance back down to the pool where his perpetual rival still remained.

"Tch," Rin dismissed "I'll get you in the relay" and he fixed him with a fiercely challenging glare.

"Uh, about that," Nagisa began cautiously "um... I'm not sure we -ah Rei and I - we're a bit...sore" and he twiddled his thumbs as if he'd simply been admitting to eating the last of the cookies.

Rei went bright red and bowed profusely, it seemed he'd been doing a lot of that lately. Rin's jaw dropped comically wide, and he shifted an accusatory glare at Haru and Makoto.

"Oh, that's a shame" Haru said coolly, and his sapphire eyes connected with emerald, a tiny smirk on his lips.

Makoto's muscles visibly tensed and having retained hold of Haru's hand, he practically dragged his boyfriend away without so much as a word of farewell.

 

>* ))))><

 

They barely made it through Haru's front door, their kit bags and training shoes being abandoned heedlessly as they clumsily made their way though the hall, lips locked firmly together as they attempted to strip themselves and each other in transit.

They were already in the kitchen by the time Makoto had managed to rid Haru of most if his clothes and he himself was down to only his trackpants, and the taller boy roughly pushed his boyfriend against the large refrigerator before harshly grinding their hips together. Haru emitted a string of pleasingly strangled moans, and Makoto greedily devoured them as his tongue stroked into his open mouth.

Makoto's hands wandered aimlessly as he attempted to feel his way around the entirety of the formerly forbidden body that stood quivering beneath his touch, and he was faintly aware of his mind clouding over with lust as dipped his head to lick at Haru's neck.

"Ngh, I've missed you so much Haru-chan" he whispered against the shorter boy's skin, and Haru could only whimper in return as he felt his knees begin to buckle. Makoto laughed a soft little puff of air against the patch he'd been sweeping with his tongue, Haru wasn't particularly articulate at the best of times, but when he became overwhelmed during sex it seemed it completely totalled his language centre once and for all. He tested just how dazed and compliant he already was by easy lifting him up against the fridge door, and grateful for no longer having to keep himself standing, Haru drowsily wrapped his legs around Makoto's waist as their hips continued to grind together.

Makoto's hands slipped fluidly down from Haru's back and cupped at his perfect ass, kneading his fingers into the flesh underneath that ubiquitous swimsuit. For once however he didn't actually mind it's presence, Haru had dressed so quickly back at the locker room that he wasn't surprised one bit to find he'd opted to keep it on. Nonetheless it was getting in the way and Makoto made quick work of rolling it down so his hands could roam more freely. After applying a generous amount of saliva he couldn't resist grazing a finger over Haru's entrance, and when the boy clinging to him gasped rather vocally Makoto slipped the digit straight inside, eager to feel the tightness wrap around him. And fuck was it tight, the heat sending a powerful jolt to Makoto's cock as he began the process of stretching his lover out.

"That's enough" Haru had panted deliciously into his ear soon after, but Makoto had not long added the second finger and so he kept scissoring regardless, applying little kisses of appeasement to his boyfriend's flushed face. "I said enough" Haru all but slurred and he arched his back impatiently and began speeding up the bucking of his hips.

Makoto growled and carried him the short distance over to the kitchen table, slamming him down roughly on his back and spreading his legs to stand between them. He ran his nails as a tantalising reprimand down Haru's exposed chest and watched with curious satisfaction as the muscles twitched under his touch.

"Fine, but we'll definitely need some lube" and he experimentally twisted one of his boyfriend's nipples.

"Ah!" Haru contorted on the tabletop, his own nails scratching faint streaks into it's surface "ah, in the drawer... over there!" And Makoto followed his line of sight over to the kitchen dresser.

"You keep lube in there? Haru-chan your such a pervert" he teased and after leaning down for a deep and breathless kiss went over to retrieve said item from the familiar piece of furniture, leaving Haru spread eagled and panting heavily.

"Are you sure you're ready?" He said when he returned and he stroked a gentle hand up the inside of Haru's already shaking thigh "because I don't want to hurt you, but I don't think I'll be able to hold back once we've started" and it was his soft kind eyes, not the predator's gaze that now looked down at his lover. Haru nodded once and as if in substitution for any actual words, he brought his foot up to curl around Makoto's back and he returned the gentle stroking action.

With that a switch seemed to flick back on somewhere in Makoto's eyes and he grabbed the hem of those thoroughly unwanted jammers and ripped them off in one smooth motion, releasing Haru's straining erection in the process. He then pulled his trackpants down to his mid thigh and keeping a possessive watch over Haru's naked and heaving body applied a large amount of lube to his own length, not even pausing to warm it between his fingers.

With one hand on Haru's hip and another holding his thigh, Makoto drove inside all the way in one powerful thrust, and Haru arched up off the table as he screamed his boyfriend's name. It felt like returning home, but also like the first time and Makoto's hips instinctively began moving, picking up pace until he was relentlessly slamming into Haru, the table creaking and their loud moans echoing through the empty house. Haru's ankles looped around Makoto and he dug his heels into his lower back, his hands reaching above his head to grab hold of the edge of the table as his body was forcefully shunted by Makoto's rapid thrusts.

"Shit, you're so tight" Makoto gritted out as he plunged inside again and again, feeling Haru pulsing around him and bucking that much more erratically. He'd known they wouldn't last long, having held back all week, but the screams and gasps Haru was vocalising beneath him were driving him hurtling towards the edge.

"AHH!" Haru shouted in ecstasy "I- " And before he could finish his warning he spasmed violently, a hot stream of cum splashing across his own tensed stomach and his eyes screwing shut as his throat choked on a scream. At the vivid sight of Haru's orgasm, Makoto instantly pulled out and with a grunt a moment later he shot his load down onto Haru, his copious release mingling with his boyfriend's on his fluctuating abdomen.

Makoto collapsed over the table, barely keeping himself from falling on Haru by belatedly propping himself on his elbows. He rested his forehead over Haru's shoulder, but after catching his breath he took a quick look down between them to admire their handiwork.

"Hm, I've been thinking about cumming on you all week" he said wistfully and he felt Haru shift to turn his face to the side in embarrassment. With a kiss to his collarbone he crawled his way back off of Haru, and after pausing only a moment to appreciate the lewd sight in front of him, stretched out his hand to assist his boyfriend down from the now mysteriously rickety table. Haru accepted the hand, and his smaller frame was easily winched into a sitting position, he looked down at his cum streaked stomach and absently drew a finger through it. It was Makoto's turn to get needlessly flustered and he swallowed heavily as he watched his boyfriend examine their mingled release.

"Haru, Go and get cleaned up" he said trying to hide how much it turned him on. Haru thankfully just shrugged and moved towards the bathroom, but he stopped before exiting the kitchen and glanced back at Makoto in the way that meant 'aren't you coming too?'

"Go ahead, I need to call my parents to let them know I'm staying over" and Haru quirked his eyebrow in the way that meant 'seriously?' "Shut up" Makoto retorted even though he hadn't actually said anything, and then a little quieter "I didn't want to jinx it'. "Idiot" "Go get cleaned up" Makoto warned playfully, "then get up those stairs, I'm not finished with you yet"

 

When Makoto joined Haru in his bedroom he was nearly fully clothed again, he'd put his tracksuit back on as he hadn't really fancied the idea of holding a conversation with one of his parents whilst stark bollock naked and having recently fucked his boyfriend into his kitchen table. His suddenly re-clothed appearance had a cutely comical effect on said boyfriend however, as when he came into the room a noticeable furrow appeared at his brow and he did one of his subtle little scowls.

Makoto had to stifle a laugh as he moved over to join him on the bed, but the smile was promptly wiped off his face when Haru lifted the covers he was draped in, to reveal that he at least remained suitably naked. Makoto ran his eyes hungrily over the statuesque contours of his lovers's beautiful body as if he hadn't just had a fix of him downstairs, and that was all he needed to strip himself at a pace that could possibly had rivalled Haru himself.

He slid under the blanket that Haru still held aloft, and they immediately curled into a tangled embrace and began a slowly building marathon of sensual kisses and feathery touches. It could have been minutes or it could have been hours, they just lay there drinking each other in as if they'd been split apart for years and were making up for lost time.

By now it was late afternoon and the curtains were drawn, casting a soft glow into the steamy room and blocking out the entire world. Makoto slowly manoeuvred himself around in the small bed so he was hovering over Haru, looking down on him and stroking his face and hair with his hands where they lay either side of his head. Slowly, ever so slowly as if to appreciate every second, Makoto pushed back inside Haru, and the boy beneath him moaned in pleasure at the heady sensation of being so gradually filled.

Makoto stilled when he was all the way in, kissing Haru on his lips, his cheek and his forehead. Haru's face was a picture of contentment, having Makoto so completely inside him, and as Makoto began to gently rock his hips, little flickers of bliss dated across his usually deadpan features. Makoto felt so in love he could almost have cried, and he muffled his sobs against Haru's lips, his boyfriend gratefully accepting them and returning with his own.

"I love you Haru, I love you..." He repeated helplessly, and Haru's moans began to grow louder.

As Makoto began to push in with longer strokes, Haru's head fell further back into the soft pillows and he began to chant his boyfriend's name under his breath. Makoto began to pick up a slow but steady rhythm, his thrusts tender but strong all at once. Haru began to moan and call out his name louder, his hands bunching the sheets and clinging onto his boyfriend' back alternately. And then Makoto hit that spot, his gentle but powerful motion stroking Haru's nerves repeatedly and Haru sudenly felt as if he was floating. He arched up into Makoto's embrace and gasped for air as the heavenly sensation took over his body.

"Makoto" was all that he could manage, but within it Makoto's expert ear deciphered a multitude of breathtaking emotions as they moved in harmony together.

Haru's jaw fell open and his eyes fluttered delicately as he took a swan dive into his orgasm, the waves of pleasure crashing all around him and temporarily blinding his already hazy vision. Makoto watched Haru climax and was astounded at his beautiful vulnerability. As if lifting the world from his shoulders, Makoto released deep inside Haru, his name on his lips and still holding on to his quivering body.

He fell down onto the bed finally exhausted, pulling Haru to lie on top of him as they basked in the sweetest afterglow. Makoto nuzzled his lips into the top of Haru's head, kissing him and stroking his back as they came down together.

"Thank you" he said softly, but Haru was already asleep. Makoto let him rest, they had a long night ahead of them after all.

 

>* ))))><

 

It was Monday afternoon, after practice, and proceedings had a strangely familiar awkwardness to them. Luckily there was no sight of Rin, but his occasionally equally terrifying little sister was currently holding court in the club room, she was kneeling at the head of the small table and Haru and Makoto were sitting across from Nagisa and Rei.

Silence had descended not long after they all gathered together, having finished practice and were almost ready to leave before Gou had called them in for a team meeting. The boys had a feeling they probably knew what it was going to be about, but nevertheless they all dutifully took their seats. They were however already wishing they hadn't. This was turning out to be way more uncomfortable than it had been with Rin.

"Um, Gou-chan" Makoto, being captain was forced to take the lead, "what's this-"

"Five days" she said blandly without looking up from the papers she was holding.

"Err... " and Makoto looked with wide eyes to the others for help, eventually resorting to kicking Nagisa under the table. Nagisa yelped at the sudden jolt, obviously still a little sensitive when sitting down.

"Five days," Gou continued as she brought her crimson eyes up to survey the team of reprobates that joined her at the table "I asked you to restrain yourselves for a total of five days" and her focus took a menacing tilt towards Rei and Nagisa, the former producing a little squeak and his boyfriend trying not to pout too obviously. It was clear she carried the Matsuoka gene for confrontation. "And as for you" she rounded on the pair of seniors, "you completely abandoned the relay, and your supposed to be the captain and vice captain of this absurd double date you like to call a team!"

"Nagisa was too sore..." Haru helpfully interjected, bringing a hand up to point out the traitors sitting across from him "the night before they'd been-"

"Ah, we're all very sorry Gou-chan" Makoto broke in, lowering Haru's hand back down with his own and shooting the other too a threatening stare.

"Y-yes we're also very sorry" Rei said solemnly hanging his head, by now having apologising for his boyfriend down to an art form.

"Gah," she exhaled with exasperation "it just throws all my data" she said throwing up her hands as she stared once again at the papers in front of her.

"Data?" Makoto asked, his face a picture of bewilderment.

"Yeah" and she looked back up with the obliviously calm eyes of an evil genius, "I was conducting a study into the effects of sexual restraint in sport. I was aiming to get it published in the magazine I subscribe to, look..." And she shifted a dossier from under her research materials and revealed it to contain pictures of each of them, the most prominent theme being pining looks and drool. "But don't worry, I've been thinking and I can probably still salvage it. All you have to do is fill out this short survey." And she slid four surprisingly thick documents across the table.

Absolute silence.

The room was as still as a millpond as the teammates processed this extraordinary piece of information. Gou looked expectantly between them and then seemingly realising her error reached into her pencil case to retrieve some pens.

Makoto and Haru stood up first, and a fraction of a second later were joined by Rei and Nagisa, and as if their talents instead lay in synchronised swimming, they picked up their bags and wordlessly began filing out the door. Makoto was way too tired to be dealing with this crap right now, he'd had a busy weekend after all.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there we go. This fic turned in to a little challenge for me to keep writing and posting as quickly as I could, hence it's not particularly polished and there'll be a bucket load of typos I just know it. But it was fun to set the goal of a couple thousand words a day, and I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing. 
> 
> Incidentally, i don't seem to be able to write anyone else but these silly boys, so I'm sure to be back at some stage to force them into further compromising situations. 
> 
> Thanks again for everyone's support.


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